One of the things I really wanted to do during our time in Israel was to go to a Jerusalem soccer game. Now, you have to understand that the infamous Jerusalem team, Beitar Yerushalayim, is really known for one thing: their fans and their ridiculous chants (because everything in Israel, from how you wear a kippah to which soccer team you support, has political implications). We have a new coordinator of Israeli cultural events at HUC and a group of us mentioned that we wanted to go to a game and have someone help translate the chants.
When we got to the stadium, we realized some differences about professional stadiums in the US and Israel. For one, signage. In the US, even the oldest stadiums still have pretty good signage. Need to know where you're going? Follow the signs. Unsure where the restrooms are? Follow the signs. Another thing, American teams will never miss an opportunity to sell you something. Everywhere you go, concession stands, hawkers, program get your program! At this game, there were people selling scarfs and other Beitar merchandise, but none of it was officially organized. Just getting in was an experience to say the least. Oh, and people scalp tickets like it's going out of style.
Once we finally found the rest of our group, went inside and found our seats, the action really started. And by action, I mean the chants. The chants of Beitar Yerushalayim are the most insane, passionate, and yet racist, inconsiderate chants you'll ever hear. One chant translates to "I love you, Beitar." Awesome! Same chant with different words pointed at the fans of the opposing team: "Your mothers are whores." It's like a college football game, except there's no one saying, "Don't do that."
The other thing we noticed is the amount of Spanish involved in the fan sections. The Beitar fan section is called "La Familia," "the family." The Maccabi Haifa fan section was called "Infierno Verde," or "Green Inferno."
After a brief announcement from the mayor of Jerusalem (who had recently spoken at HUC during the governor's visit), they sang the national anthem. First of all, as you'll hear in the video below, no famous, or even half-way decent, singer led it. Also, there was no military honor guard. Nor was there even a flagpole somewhere that everyone faced. Instead, everyone held up their scarfs, which have the flag on them. In the La Familia section, a Beitar banner hung throughout the section and underneath, you could see each row arm in arm swaying back and forth. It was the most passionate yet uplifting rendition of "Hatikvah" I had ever heard.
But on to the game!
Beitar started really well. They came out of the gate incredibly strong, scoring in the 10th minute in three touches - from mid-field to the corner, cross into the box, right past the keeper. Brilliant, and what we thought was the beginning of a Beitar routing. Unfortunately, the rest of the game was a routing. But Beitar was on the receiving end. After that first goal, Beitar's play just got sloppy, missing many great opportunities. Haifa responded 15 minutes later with a break-away, tying goal. 15 minutes after a short half-time, Haifa scored the go-ahead goal, followed 5 minutes later by another. By the 89th minute, it was clear Beitar was not going to win, so the goal keeper tackled a Haifa forward inside the box, giving them a free-kick. 4-1, Maccabi Haifa over Beitar. Highlights below. Although the commentary is in Hebrew, I'm sure you can figure out what the announcer is saying.
When we got to the stadium, we realized some differences about professional stadiums in the US and Israel. For one, signage. In the US, even the oldest stadiums still have pretty good signage. Need to know where you're going? Follow the signs. Unsure where the restrooms are? Follow the signs. Another thing, American teams will never miss an opportunity to sell you something. Everywhere you go, concession stands, hawkers, program get your program! At this game, there were people selling scarfs and other Beitar merchandise, but none of it was officially organized. Just getting in was an experience to say the least. Oh, and people scalp tickets like it's going out of style.
Once we finally found the rest of our group, went inside and found our seats, the action really started. And by action, I mean the chants. The chants of Beitar Yerushalayim are the most insane, passionate, and yet racist, inconsiderate chants you'll ever hear. One chant translates to "I love you, Beitar." Awesome! Same chant with different words pointed at the fans of the opposing team: "Your mothers are whores." It's like a college football game, except there's no one saying, "Don't do that."
The other thing we noticed is the amount of Spanish involved in the fan sections. The Beitar fan section is called "La Familia," "the family." The Maccabi Haifa fan section was called "Infierno Verde," or "Green Inferno."
After a brief announcement from the mayor of Jerusalem (who had recently spoken at HUC during the governor's visit), they sang the national anthem. First of all, as you'll hear in the video below, no famous, or even half-way decent, singer led it. Also, there was no military honor guard. Nor was there even a flagpole somewhere that everyone faced. Instead, everyone held up their scarfs, which have the flag on them. In the La Familia section, a Beitar banner hung throughout the section and underneath, you could see each row arm in arm swaying back and forth. It was the most passionate yet uplifting rendition of "Hatikvah" I had ever heard.
But on to the game!
Beitar started really well. They came out of the gate incredibly strong, scoring in the 10th minute in three touches - from mid-field to the corner, cross into the box, right past the keeper. Brilliant, and what we thought was the beginning of a Beitar routing. Unfortunately, the rest of the game was a routing. But Beitar was on the receiving end. After that first goal, Beitar's play just got sloppy, missing many great opportunities. Haifa responded 15 minutes later with a break-away, tying goal. 15 minutes after a short half-time, Haifa scored the go-ahead goal, followed 5 minutes later by another. By the 89th minute, it was clear Beitar was not going to win, so the goal keeper tackled a Haifa forward inside the box, giving them a free-kick. 4-1, Maccabi Haifa over Beitar. Highlights below. Although the commentary is in Hebrew, I'm sure you can figure out what the announcer is saying.
And there it was - our first Jerusalem soccer game. It was an incredible experience, not just for sports; it was really an anthropological experience. Much like the rest of this country, going to a soccer game means much more than just watching a game of sport.
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